Is 1 Mbps good enough?

Grade 1 of 7: Catastrophic

A single megabit. I have seen faster fax machines. I have been one.

1 Mbps download is grade 1 of 7 on the Speed Roast scale: Catastrophic. It struggles with HD, no 4K, and downloads a full game in 6 days.

What 1 Mbps can do

• HD streamingNo

  HD will buffer. Standard definition is the realistic ceiling.

• 4K streamingNo

  4K needs more than this. Expect the picture to drop to HD or below.

• Video callsNo

  Calls will freeze and drop to audio. Turn the camera off.

• Online gamingNo

  Multiplayer will be unreliable, and a game update is an overnight job.

• Working from homeNo

  Email works. Anything with a video window does not.

Who it serves

One person, one device, and a lot of waiting. Not a household speed.

How long downloads take

Assumes the connection delivers about nine-tenths of 1 Mbps for the whole transfer, which a good line does and a busy one does not.

If your test said 1 Mbps

• A speed this low on a wired connection usually means a fault on the line, an ancient plan, or a router that has given up. Reboot the router first; it fixes more than it should.
• Test on a cable if you can. Wi-Fi routinely halves a connection, and a test over Wi-Fi measures the router as much as the line.
• Check the speed your plan promises. Providers advertise an "up to" or "average" figure; a result well below it, on a cable, is worth a complaint.
• Test at different times. Cable and older networks slow down in the evening when the neighbourhood is home.
• If fibre or cable is available at your address, almost any plan will be a large step up from here.

Questions people ask

The grades are mine, applied to download speed. Streaming figures use the services’ published minimums with a margin. See how I work.

TEST MINE